Noun Modifiers

What are and how to use

Noun modifiers

key concepts

Regular Past Participle: A verb that ends in -ed used in perfect tenses.

Present Participle: A verb that ends in -ing.

Nouns: Words that refer to people, places, things, animals, ideas, etc.

Infinitives: A base form of a verb that follows 'to'.

Prepositions: Words or phrases that show a relationship in place and time.

Irregular Part Participle: A verb with form changes or no changes used in perfect tenses.

noun modifiers

They are phrases used to give more information about the noun situated next to them.

noun modifires

Participial Phrases

Infinitive Phrases

Prepositional Phrases

participial phrases

We use a participle next to a noun: -With a present participle: (e.g.) The monkeys hanging on the branches were eating the fruits. -With a regular past participle: (e.g.) We slept in the room cleaned recently.. -With an irregular past participle: (e.g.) She ate on a plate made of steel.

past form vs past participle

Irregular Participles

Past Participle

Past Form

The past form of a regular verb also ends in -ed and is used in past simple to express that an action happened and finished in the past. (e.g.) She ran in the morning.

The past participle of a regaluar verb also ends in -ed. However, it's only used to describe the noun next to it. (e.g.) He calmed the baby scared during the storm.

We can distinguish the past form and the past participle of a verb with the irregular changes in each form. (e.g.) began vs begun.

prepostional phrases

We use a preposition next to a noun: -To express a time relationship: (e.g.) They will talk at the meeting after class. -To express a place relationship: (e.g.) The boy in that car is very rich. -As part of a fixed expression: (e.g.) The athlete under stress doesn't perform well in the match.

infinitive phrase

We use an infinitive next to a noun: -To express an action relationship: (e.g.) Karen has a job to do in the afternoon..